


butterflies ain't got nothing on us

by destroyerofhearts



Series: The Butterfly 'Verse [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21540736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destroyerofhearts/pseuds/destroyerofhearts
Summary: David pursed his lips together. "Science isn't really my strong suit, but what I am saying is you definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."Patrick huffed a laugh. "More like the wrong side of the universe."OR an AU where Patrick from an alternate universe ends up in the Schitt's Creek universe.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: The Butterfly 'Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552405
Comments: 71
Kudos: 185





	1. the flutter of a butterfly's wing

**Author's Note:**

> dan levy said fuck the timeline rights and i took it very literally.

_ It has been said _  
_something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing_  
_can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world._

-Chaos Theory-

The first thing Patrick registered when he woke up was the light filtering into the room, dancing across his face and behind his eyes.

The next thing he noticed was the silence. His apartment was anything but sound-proof and it was almost certainly creeping into peak hour in Halifax. So where had all the noise of traffic gone?

And then a body shifted next to him and he realised he wasn't alone. Huh. Did he get really drunk last night and go on the pull? Because he had absolutely no memory of it, having vowed to never have a one night stand ever again after the one he attempted a few months ago. Not to mention there was no imminent hangover. 

The body shifted again and suddenly an arm was thrown over his stomach. 

Patrick blinked his eyes open and looked around. He's in a different apartment, slightly smaller than his one back home, and he's in bed with a man.

Wait. What?

The man next to him was buried underneath the blankets, dark hair sticking up in all directions. He's snoring softly, clearly undisturbed by Patrick's sudden crisis of his memory and his sexuality. He didn't do anything last night that would warrant...this. Being in bed with a stranger in an apartment that was most definitely not in Halifax. 

Gently he moved the man's arm from where it was laying on his stomach off to the side. As quietly and as smoothly as he could, Patrick slipped out from underneath the covers, quickly putting them down next to the man and started looking around the flat for some clothes. 

The large shelves next to the bed were filled with a variety of clothes, many of which looked like his. He picked up a button-down shirt and inspected it. It _was_ his, at least it looks like it was. But he could have sworn it was in the wash at his place. 

"Honey, what are you doing?" he heard the man mumble from the bed.

Patrick whipped around in a panic. So much for sneaking out undetected. "I'm getting dressed?"

"We don't have to go into work yet. Come back to bed," the man sighed, before rolling over and settling down to go back to sleep.

"I can't, I have to go." Shit, it's a Friday too, Patrick thought, realising how late he's going to be for work. He didn't even know how far he was from the city.

"G' where?"

"Home, then work," Patrick hurriedly explained as he shucked his sleep shirt and threw on his button-down. 

"Home?" the man asked, turning back over to face Patrick and rubbing his eyes awake.

"Yeah. How far is the drive to Halifax from here?"

The man pushed himself up on his arm, frowning. And for the first time, Patrick was able to see his face properly instead of hidden under the blankets. He had sharp, attractive cheekbones, a nice smattering of stubble and his eyebrows are...something. And weirdly enough, he does sort of seem familiar, but Patrick is unable to work out where he knows his face from.

"Halifax? That's at least a day's drive from here....what-why are you going to Halifax?"

"For work?"

"We don't have any vendors there, given that it's not exactly local?" the man said, and now Patrick was even more confused.

"Vendors? No, I have a job there."

The man made a face so comical that if Patrick weren't so confused and stressed, he would have laughed. "Okay? I'm not sure what pill you’ve accidentally taken in the last 24 hours, but as far as I'm aware you don't have a job in Halifax, of all places."

Patrick laughed. This was too much. What on Earth was going on? Some sort of elaborate prank, perhaps. God, he was going to kill whoever set this one up. 

"I'm not sure what's going on here but it's really not funny anymore," Patrick said, stepping towards the bed.

The man looked to the side, his mouth slightly open in bemusement. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"This! This whole...thing!" Patrick exclaimed, gesturing to the apartment. "I don't know where I am, or what's going on, and I definitely don't know who you are."

In that instant, the man's demeanour changed quickly from confusion to concern. "I'm David? Your fiancé? Honey, are you feeling alright?"

"I think I need to sit down," Patrick said, bile rising up in his throat. He sat at the end of the bed, feeling light-headed and panicked.

The man - David - swiftly moved from being in bed to sitting next to him. "Did you hit your head yesterday when I went to get lunch? I told you to not to change the displays on your own without my direction, and also not without me holding the ladder."

Patrick looked up at David. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

David's expression faltered for a second, but he continued, "At Rose Apothecary. Your actual place of work."

Patrick just shook his head.

David stood up, nervously shaking his hands. "Oh, my God. Okay. Okay. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I went to bed in my place in Halifax last night, on my own.”

“You never told me you lived in Nova Scotia.”

“I _still_ live there. I’ve been living there for almost a year and a half!”

“Okay! Okay. You live in Halifax. Did anything else happen that you can remember from last night?” David asked urgently.

“Nothing significant happened. I might have had something to drink last night? Oh, my ex-fiancé texted me but I’m not sure if that’s important,” Patrick said as David took in a sharp breath. 

“Rachel?”

At that, Patrick perked up. “Yeah, you know her?”

“Mmhmm,” David said, nodding his head quickly. “Okay, this is getting us nowhere. Do you remember yesterday’s date?

Patrick nodded. "The 29th of June. I think, anyway. Sometime around that date at least."

David frowned, picking his phone up from the bedside table. "I thought maybe it was some kind of amnesia-induced hallucination that you’re having but that...that was yesterday's date."

“Well, maybe this is some weird nightmare I'm having because this just doesn't make any sense."

David grimaced. "A thought I used to have every day when we first moved to this town. Very dark.”

Patrick sighed, head falling into his hands. "I think I'm just going completely insane."

David continued pacing back and forth the room, his head thrown back and his eyes shut in distress. "Okay. I didn't want to say anything. But...you weren't wearing those pyjamas last night."

Patrick just raised an eyebrow. "Huh. But you see, I was? I didn't change in the night."

"In fact, you threw those pyjamas out months ago. They were ratty, I couldn't stand you in them," David explained, gesturing at him. 

Suddenly, something seemed to click in Patrick's mind. It was completely insane, but...

"I don't think I'm him. Me. This is confusing," Patrick said, shaking his head. 

David slowly nodded, eyes darting around the room. "No, I think I know. You're right, you're not him. My Patrick, that is. But you're, somehow, still Patrick."

"Okay?"

"There was this weird film my mom did about two identical people from two different universes who got swapped for a week? So maybe like, that's what's happened here."

"So what you're saying is that I'm a different Patrick to the one from this...world?"

David pursed his lips together. "Science isn't really my strong suit, but what I am saying is you definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Patrick huffed a laugh. "More like the wrong side of the universe."

\---

After some awkward small talk was made, David excused himself to the shower. This was Patrick's chance to call someone he actually knew, in the hopes of getting some answers. For all he knew, this could still be some very elaborate prank. 

Picking up the phone on his side of the bed, he was thankful when he was able to use his normal passcode to unlock it. Thankfully some things hadn't changed between universes. He scrolled through his contacts, finding the number to call Rachel. Despite their rocky history, she was someone he could trust right now. She’d know how to ground him. 

"Patrick? Are you okay?" she asked as she answered the phone and Patrick almost sighed in relief at hearing her voice.

"Rachel, thank god. I think I'm going insane. I've woken up in the middle of nowhere and I'm engaged. To a man."

There was silence over the phone, and for a second Patrick thought the line had gone dead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel perfectly fine, other than the fact that this isn't my life. Rachel, you know me better than anyone else. You know that I'm living and working in Nova Scotia and that I'm straight. Right?"

"You've never lived in Nova Scotia, Patrick," Rachel said. Patrick stayed quiet, not knowing what to say or even think.

"And as far as I'm aware, you've been living very happily in Schitt's Creek with your boyfriend and the shop you guys own together for the past couple of years," she continued, and Patrick wanted to laugh. Of _course_ he was in Schitt's Creek. Where else in the universe could he have ended up that would've been so aptly named? 

"We don't even really talk anymore," Rachel continued. 

"What?"

Rachel sighed. "Look, I'm running late for work. You can call me tonight if you're still...I don't know what this is. Okay? Talk soon." And she very promptly hung up.

At that moment, David came out of the shower, dressed in a monochrome sweater that Patrick, albeit not knowing much, assumed was designer. He wore a black skirt over his jeans, that were ripped at the knees, and some expensive-looking white hi-tops. When Patrick was finally able to pull his eyes away from the bold look, he could see David's red-rimmed eyes. 

"This whole...situation calls for pancakes, and if we're going to open the shop at a reasonable hour, then we need to get going to the cafe, like, now," David informed him airily, as though he weren't affected at all. 

Patrick just nodded and promptly got ready to face the day in...Schitt's Creek. Literally. 

\---

A quick bit of googling lead Patrick to a variety of confusing pages all about parallel universes and chaos theory, but it does give enough of an idea that it's possible, in some completely bizarre, fucked up way, that Patrick had somehow been transported from his own universe to this one. 

After more talking to David, he was able to determine that his and the other Patrick's life were identical up to a point - that Patrick didn't break off his engagement with Rachel until 6 months after this universe's Patrick had. And because of this delay, Patrick had actually ended up with a different job during that time, making him run to Nova Scotia instead of The Middle Of Nowhere, Ontario.

A different choice, which had led to a different timeline, which had led to a different universe altogether.

Patrick marvelled at the giant Cafe Tropical menus that had been handed to him by the waitress - Twyla, David had said. She'd also made some offhand comment about the happy couple which Patrick had just smiled and nodded at. 

It had never occurred to him that in a different timeline, a different version of him, that he'd be gay. 

And even if he had imagined it, David wasn't exactly the kind of person he thought he'd marry.

(He'd worked it out now, why David had seemed somewhat familiar this morning. He was one of the wealthy Rose's, a family who'd once owned a video empire Patrick had worked for, but had fallen from grace thanks to their business manager. David did seem somewhat comforted to know that he wasn't the only version of himself to end up in Schitt's Creek).

"So tell me about this shop we own together?" Patrick asked over breakfast. 

"It's like a general store, but it's also a very specific store? And we sell drinks, and coffee, and alcohol, but it's not a cafe, nor is it a bar."

Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Ah. So you're clear on what it's not, then."

David looked a bit taken aback at Patrick's comment but brushed it off before Patrick could say anything else. "We sell products from local vendors under the one label. But it's a little different from what you'd find in a typical general store. Does that makes sense?"

"Yeah, it does. It's a great idea, actually. I can see why he - me - went into business with you."

David hummed but didn't say anything else, choosing to continue digging into his pancakes. Patrick sipped at his tea, not feeling up to stomaching much else.

"How are you two lovebirds going?" Twyla asked as she approached the table. Patrick quickly plastered on a smile and looked toward David to do the talking. 

"We're fine, thank you," David responded, his tone really sounding more like 'we're fine, fuck off!'

"Great! Let me know if you need anything else before I head out," Twyla said, not picking up on David's tone.

"Actually, there is one thing I wanted to ask," David started, his gaze landing on Patrick. 

Patrick's eyes widened at what he suspected David was about to ask. He wouldn't, that'd be insane! They'd be laughed out of the town for sure.

"Sure, what is it?" Twyla asked with casual ease.

"I'm just curious if you, or anyone you know, has ever had any experience with parallel universes," David said with a charming smile.

Patrick flinched, waiting for Twyla's reaction of shock, disgust, or horror. But it never came. Instead, she lit up at David's query.

"Well, now that you mention it, I do know of my uncle's cousin who once travelled to a parallel universe, and hasn't been heard from since!" she said far too cheerily.

David's smile quickly turned into more of a grimace as he nodded his head jerkily. "Yep. Mm-hmm. Sounds...very dark."

Twyla just grinned and left them be.

Patrick looked at David with wide eyes. "What just happened?"

David looked down at his plate with an expression of worry. "That's Twyla for you. Figured out of anyone in his town she'd be the most likely to know about something like...that." He tried to laugh, but it came out more like a cough and he was no longer able to meet Patrick's eyes. 

"You okay?" Patrick asked. 

"Mm-hmm. I'm fine," David said, though it came out more like a whisper. Patrick didn't say anything else and tried to school his features, but he could tell David was far from okay.

David jumped up, the rest of his pancakes left abandoned on his plate. "We should go and open the store."

Patrick nodded, following suit.

\---

Rose Apothecary was absolutely beautiful, and Patrick understood why his other self decided it was a worthy occupation.

"I like the name. Has just the right amount of pretension to it," Patrick commented in slight awe as David unlocked the door.

"Mmm. That it does," David said as he opened the door, holding it for Patrick to go inside. 

Patrick shut the door and quickly flipped the sign to 'open'. "What are you doing?" David asked, dropping his bag by the counter.

"I'm opening the store."

"I'm - it's not ready to be opened yet."

Patrick hummed. "Well, it should've been opened 20 minutes ago, according to the times on your door."

"Oh, my God," David huffed, throwing his head back dramatically and moving around to the other side of the counter to start up the register. 

"I mean, seeing as I'm filling in for myself, I have a pretty good idea that he probably likes the store being opened on time."

"Okay! First of all, you have no right to be this insufferable," David started with his dramatic gestures, and Patrick couldn't help the grin that came to his face. "And secondly, seeing as you are filling in for yourself, you're temporarily in charge of the book-keeping until this whole 'Freaky Friday' situation is over."

"Okay, David," Patrick replied, unable to keep the amusement out of his tone which earned him a death glare. 

Before either of them could say anything else, a customer walked through the door and the workday began. Being somewhat out of his depth, Patrick left all of the customer services up to David, choosing to hide behind the till and catch up on what his other self had been working on with their accounts. 

When there was a break in the customers, Patrick stepped out from behind the counter and took a proper look around. David and the other Patrick had truly cultivated something quite brilliant here. Not just in its appearance, but he could see it in the books too. 

"I have to say, I'm very impressed with what you've created here David. It's quite amazing," Patrick voiced as David spritzed some of the produce at the front of the shop. 

"Thank you," David quietly responded. 

Patrick quietly puttered towards a stock of bottles and picked one of them up. "Body milk? Can you drink this?"

"Well, now you've ruined the moment."

\---

Lunch came quickly upon them and they were faced with an issue of who would mind the store while the other got lunch.

“I can look after the store for 20 minutes, David, you can go and get us something to eat from the cafe and we’ll be fine,” Patrick insisted. 

David was still hesitant. “I’m happy to put up a sign and lock the shop if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“David. I’m a grown man, I’ll be fine.”

David threw his arms up in the air. ”Okay! Look, just call me if anything happens. And remember-"

"No family and friends discounts for the Schitt's, and no free items for any of your family, I know," Patrick said. 

David made for the door, only turning back briefly to say, "I'll be back soon. I love you."

Fuck.

Patrick blushed as David halted in the doorway, suddenly struggling with the door after realising what he’d just said. He made a not-so-quick exit, and Patrick watched as he scuttled away from the shop to the cafe. 

Okay. He could do this. Everything would be just fine. 

A customer came in, distracting Patrick for a few minutes as he attempted to help her with choosing a scarf (made out of cat hair, which was definitely going to give Patrick hay-fever). But she was gone almost as soon as she came, and hardly any time had passed. David hadn’t returned. 

As he was pouring over some more spreadsheets and their inventory, the bell above the door rang. He looked up, giving a polite smile and a quick ‘hi’ as the dark haired woman approached the till. 

“Hi?” The woman asked, brow furrowing. Oh crap. Was he meant to know her?

“How’s your day been?” 

“Just fine….thanks for asking,” she replied, not sounding so convinced by her answer.

Patrick smiled, trying to disguise the sudden panic he was having. Why didn’t David tell him about her? Who was she? He was so screwed.

“That’s, uh, good. Were you looking for David, or…?” He trailed off, glancing out towards the street to see if he was making his way back. He really, really hoped so. 

“Actually, I was here about my wine.”

David definitely did not tell him about any wine. Was she his sister? No, David showed him photos and Alexis looked nothing like this girl. Oh God, he was dead. He was so, so dead. 

“The wine, oh right, the wine. You’re here for the wine,” Patrick started, trying to come up with something else he could stay to hold her off until David got back. 

“Yeah. The wine.”

Before Patrick could say anything else the bell rang again and David walked in, quickly pulling off his sunnies and setting his bag down by the door. 

“Stevie! What-what are you doing here?”

Stevie turned to David. “I’m here about the wine.”

David started nodding, his lips pursed in a kind of uncomfortable smile. “Of course you are. Let me just go and grab it for you.”

David quickly pushed his way past her and past Patrick to get into the back storage room. He returned fairly promptly with two bottles of wine. 

“Let me just ring that up for you,” he said with a fake laugh, and Patrick watched him enter some sort of discount into the register. “Was there anything else I could help you with?”

Stevie nodded. “Yeah, actually. Who’s this?” She said, pointing straight at Patrick. 

Patrick quickly chuckled to hide any indication that she’d definitely noticed something was wrong. “Stevie, it’s me. Patrick.”

“Does Patrick have a twin brother that I don’t know about? Because that’s not him.”

“Why-what gave you that impression?” David interjected. 

“He said ‘hi’, and asked me how my day was. I know he’s polite, but not _that_ polite. And he didn’t seem to know my name or anything about the wine I get on the regular.”

David looked genuinely pained at this point but still powered through. “That doesn’t mean anything. He’s just not having a good day, are you, honey?”

Patrick shook his head, his heart skipping at the term of endearment. Huh. 

“Fine. If he is the Patrick I know, then he’ll be able to tell me about the butterflies,” Stevie said, crossing her arms with a smug smile on her face.

“Butterflies? What butterflies?” David asked, looking around as though there were some in the shop. 

“The real Patrick would know what he told me about the butterflies,” Stevie insisted. 

“Honey, why didn’t you tell me about the butterflies?” David asked Patrick, his voice going higher in pitch. 

“You’re bluffing,” Patrick said instead, staring Stevie down. 

She just smirked. “Am I, though?”

Next to him, David’s face was all scrunched up in distress. He was about to crack, Patrick realised, and Stevie knew it too. 

“Fine! Fine. This isn’t Patrick. Well, it is, but he’s not the normal Patrick. We think he’s come here from another universe,” David admitted.

“Another universe? Wow. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to come from this conversation, but that wasn’t it,” Stevie said with an eyebrow raised as she looked between the two of them.

“Just don’t tell anyone, okay? Especially my family. This is just some sort of temporary….blip that I’m sure will all be resolved by tomorrow,” David told her. 

“Okay. What if it’s not resolved by tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry?” Patrick asked at the same time David said, “What do you mean?”

“I’m asking, how do you know it’s not a temporary thing? What if this is forever?” She posed. 

Patrick hadn’t even thought about that, and neither had David, based off of the expression on his face. What if he was stuck here forever? Did that mean he’d become a part of the business? Would he continue to live in this town for the rest of his life?

Would he get married to David?

“It-it can’t be forever,” he heard David stuttering next to him.

“But it might be,” Patrick said quietly, resting his arms on the counter and leaning his head on his hands. 

“Don’t say that.” David softly replied, looking anywhere but at Stevie and Patrick. “I think I just need a second,” he said quickly, moving into the backroom.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Patrick asked Stevie, “What was the answer?”

“To what?” She replied faintly, still staring after David who’d disappeared into the back room. 

“The butterflies?”

She looked at him, something unreadable in her gaze. “You told me how David made you feel butterflies.”

“I said that?”

She shrugged. “You _might’ve_ been drunk? But yeah. You said you didn’t know what ‘butterflies’ were supposed to feel like until you met him.”

“Oh. Right.”

After another awkward pause, Patrick straightened up. “I think I need to go…somewhere.”

Stevie just nodded, and a voice came from behind him. “I know where.”

David emerged, opening a drawer filled with inventory paperwork. He dug around, pulling out a brochure with a map. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Hiking trails at the local conservation park,” he said, not meeting Patrick’s eyes. 

“Oh. Thank you.” 

“Take your car, I think I’m going to go to the motel for the night anyway,” David said with a watery laugh. 

“Oh, you…you don’t need to stay at a motel on my account. If anything, I should be the one-“ Patrick started awkwardly, but David interjected.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I mean I used to live there. I still live there, technically, I haven’t officially moved into your place yet.”

“Oh,” Patrick replied. David lived in a motel? 

“Go. We’ll figure this out later,” he said softly. 

“Okay.”

Patrick grabbed his things and left the shop, feeling like he’d made a mistake leaving David. But he wasn’t able to pin down why. 

Looking back, he could see Stevie, through the windows, moving around to give David a hug. He turned away quickly, not wanting to see David’s face. God forbid if he saw it, it'd make him want to turn back. 

\---

Even though Patrick knew it wasn’t smart to do a hike that was too strenuous and when he wasn’t in the most appropriate clothing, he was determined to avoid as many people as possible. So he hiked up on a quieter trail to Rattlesnake Point (as it was called on the map) and sat there as he contemplated why he was even here in the first place. 

“It’s not fair. IT’S NOT FAIR!” He yelled into the valley. In the distance, he could hear birds taking off from the trees at the sound, and instantly he regretted his anger. 

“Sorry,” he whispered to the wind as it whipped up around him. The sun was starting to soften as the day waned into twilight and Patrick sighed. He wished he could stay here forever, and never return to the nightmare he was stuck in. 

He’d lost everything. His whole life was just gone, like that. And he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get it back. 

\---

When he arrived back to Schitt’s Creek it was dark. The Cafe was still open, so he pulled up there and went inside, sitting down in one of the booths by himself. The floor was quiet, only a handful of other people still milling around as Twyla served them.

“Patrick! You’re here late. What can I get for you?”

“Just something to go, Twyla,” Patrick said, and she nodded, heading to the kitchen to get something for him. 

This town was strange. He’d never found comfort in small towns - he’d preferred the big cities, choosing to go to one for college, and trying to stay in them for his work. Halifax was one of the smaller cities he’d ended up in, and he’d found himself occasionally wishing it was a bit bigger. But this town - Schitt’s Creek - wasn’t like his home town where he grew up or some of the small places he’d visited whenever he’d leave the city for a weekend getaway. It felt removed from reality in a way that Patrick wasn’t quite able to pinpoint. Like there wasn’t really a world beyond this small town. It felt like an escape from the overwhelmingness of life.

He could almost understand why the other him stayed. 

Twyla handed him a bag of soup with a straw, and Patrick just nodded and handed over the correct change, trying not to grimace at the sad state of his dinner. He exited the Cafe, walking down the street to where Rose Apothecary was. No one was there, being long closed, but Patrick found himself standing outside the store, still somewhat in awe of the life he’d managed to build here. The other him, that was. 

Patrick walked back to his car, sipping some of the soup on the way and regretting it instantly. 

—-

Patrick arrived at the complex where his flat was, shutting off his engine as he looked up at the brick building.

‘I’m home,’ he thought, before quickly correcting himself, ‘or, his home.’

Patrick traipsed up the stairs, arriving at his door and unlocking it with the key attached to his cars keys. He shut the door of his flat behind him, the click of the lock resounding loudly in the apartment. Flicking on the lights, Patrick took in a deep breath and regarded the place properly. It was cosy, Patrick thought, something that he never would have imagined picking for himself but it felt homey enough. He walked over to admire the exposed brick above the fireplace when a photo on the mantle caught his attention. It was a black and white candid photo of David, in the store, leaning against the counter and staring out the front windows. His expression was relaxed, as he waited for customers to walk through the door, Patrick imagined. 

His phone - other Patrick’s phone, but he was using it as his for the time being - buzzed in his pocket and he checked it. It was a message from David.

**David:** _Hope you’re feeling better. Don’t worry about coming into the store tomorrow (if you’re still here tomorrow…) I’ll cover for you._

Patrick sighed, turning his phone off and tossing it aside. He toed his shoes off and collapsed onto his bed. He shut his eyes, breathing deeply in and out to ground himself. But the blankets smelled like David and for some unexplainable reason, he missed the other man. 

Patrick got himself ready for bed, even though he knew he’d be spending the night tossing and turning.


	2. To Build A Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI I wrote a lot of this story before season 6 came out, and thus it's canon divergent from season 5. Ive added little touches though of s6. I hope they work. 
> 
> I didn't think I'd come back to this fic because Im a perfectionist who gets frustrated very easily. but hey! here I am. thanks to everyone for your kind words. I'll try not to leave you hanging this time.

Patrick didn’t sleep. Very well, that is. And the sleep he did manage to get was fitful and nightmarish. 

He got up just before the dawn and threw on some of his other self’s hiking gear. Driving to the same spot he was at yesterday, he hiked up to the top and watched the sun rise over the valley. 

However, he itched to do something instead of sitting around at the top of a mountain all day, or in a flat that wasn’t really his. He was going to go stir-crazy otherwise, and there was nothing worse than doing nothing to fix this mess when he could at least be doing something. 

He came back from his hike to quickly shower at the flat, eat something in a hurry, and once he was ready he drove to the shop just before it opened.

So it was to his great surprise that David was not only there on time but early, but so was Stevie and another woman who he presumed to be David’s sister, Alexis. 

“What-what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay home,” David asked, looking mildly distressed when Patrick walked in the door.

“I can’t be cooped up inside all day, David, or I’ll go insane,” he replied. “Hi,” he said, shooting the two women a quick smile. Stevie smiled back, looking between him and David, while Alexis played with her hair and smiled too, however she looked a bit puzzled. 

“Um, David, isn’t Patrick going with you?” She asked.

David shut his eyes in pain, and Patrick realised that wherever he was going today, it was clearly something important for the couple. And he was most definitely not invited. 

“Patrick wasn’t feeling well,” David started, glaring at him, “and I told him to rest while I went and looked at the listings with Ray.”

“Actually, I’m feeling pretty okay,” Patrick interjected. 

David was now looking like he was going to kill him. “Uh, I’m not so sure-“

“He looks fine to me, David. And besides, I think it’s probably wise for both of you to go look at houses together,” Alexis said, cutting David off. “David’s not really known for picking the right living spaces. In New York, he actually-“

“Okay! That’s enough,” David quickly jumped in, stopping Alexis from spilling god knows what sordid tale from his past. 

“I’m just saying, it’s not a cute look to shop for houses without your fiancé,” Alexis finished.

“She’s got a point,” Stevie agreed, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. She was enjoying this, Patrick could tell. 

“Okay, well, if he’s definitely feeling better, then Patrick can come. But if he’s not-“

“Oh, I’m definitely feeling better,” Patrick smirked.

David forced a smile. “Then, yes, we will go house shopping, together. Today.” 

—-

“You didn’t have to come,” David said quietly as they drove away from the store. 

“I wanted to,” Patrick replied, watching David. “Besides, I’m sure the other me would like to have a say in what places you might eventually buy, and this is as close as he’s going to get.”

“Mm. Well, I was hoping to avoid your budgetary input for our first look at the listings-“

“Not gonna happen, David.” 

Patrick watched as David hid a smile behind a put-out expression. “Well. If you want to get a head-start, the details of all the houses we’re going to see today are in the glove box.”

Patrick pulled out the papers and rifled through them, quickly trying to do the math in his head as to what the other Patrick would see as financially suitable. His eyes landed on a stack of papers towards the back of the pile that looked like a spreadsheet, which he quickly pulled to the front of the stack.

“Oh, wow,” Patrick gasped, marvelling at the pages in front of him as he flicked through.

“The lodge _is_ gorgeous, and if you’re willing to compromise on the budget, it could be ours,” David said, oblivious to what Patrick was actually looking at.

“I cannot believe how organised he is,” he continued. David quickly glanced his way, realising that he wasn’t actually looking at any of the listings. 

“Okay, please tell me that your reaction before was to one of the houses?” David asked.

“Have you even looked at this? It’s colour coded AND alphabetised. It’s a dream come true!” 

“So we’re looking for a house together, but the dream come true is the spreadsheet?!” David looked affronted.

“Well given that I’m not actually your fiancé, I’d say the spreadsheet is the dream come true, yeah,” Patrick joked, only realising a second too late that David’s demeanour had changed from light and teasing to something much sadder. Patrick bit his lip, turning his gaze away from David to out the window. 

“Oh, you should also know that Ray is showing us the houses,” David said a little later, the usual pep in his voice missing.

“Ray?”

“You lived with him when you first moved into town, actually. Worked for him too. That’s how we met. You filed my incorporation papers,” he explained. 

“Huh. Good to know.”

“You should also know that Ray is very talkative.”

——

“So gentlemen, what do we think so far?” Ray asked after showing the first house. It was a sweet one storey house that Patrick liked, but David wasn’t sold on.

“It’s nice. Very homey, spacious, and not too far from the store,” Patrick said.

“It’s just missing some vital closet space,” David added.

“But it’s also very affordable,” Patrick volleyed back at David. 

“I really should’ve shown you the honeymoon suite at the motel before we started looking at houses,” he sighed. Patrick raised an eyebrow at him, but David didn’t elaborate further. 

“The next house is on the other side of the road, and only a few doors down. This way, gentlemen,” Ray said, leading the way as he crossed the road. 

The two men followed, lagging behind the overly enthusiastic agent. 

They looked at another house which was fairly similar to the first, but had even less closet space so Patrick knew instantly it wasn’t going to make the cut. After that, they drove to the lodge which was the most expensive house on their list, but what David declared his ‘dream home’.

“ _This_ is your dream home?”

“Given that this is Schitt’s Creek and not New York, yes it is.” 

They wandered through the lodge. It was gorgeous, with wooden fittings and a fireplace similar to the one at Patrick’s own apartment. The master bedroom was enormous, with a large ensuite to boot. Not to mention the closet.

“Now this,” David declared, “is a closet.”

The closet was a full on room. There was a built in shelf in the middle which went to the roof, as well as on the two sides. Between the shelves were long hanging racks, high enough that their shoes could be stored underneath. 

“I have to admit, this is…incredible,” Patrick said, looking around in awe. He’d never seen such a giant space used exclusively for clothes. 

They left the closet and ended up in the living area which had a spectacular view out onto some woods that were at the back of the property.

“Well, what do you think?” David asked, coming up behind him and gently scratching his shoulders in an affectionate way. Though it was a little strange still - Patrick was not used to this at all - he leaned into the touch. 

“It’s nice. It’s perfect really, but…”

“But?”

“Is it a place that fits us? That fits who we are?” He posed. “I mean - I’m not your Patrick. But if we’re not that different, then is this the right house for us to live out the rest of our - uh, your lives together?”

David mulled the question over in his head. 

“Apart from the closet…you’re right. It’s nice, but it doesn’t feel like somewhere we could call home,” he eventually admitted. 

“Not to mention it doesn’t fit our budget, or fall in line with many of our preferences on the spreadsheet.”

“Alright dear, whatever you say,” he grumbled, but Patrick could see the smile he was hiding again. 

—-

As they departed the lodge, Ray turned to Patrick and said, “I know you wanted to save this place for last, but given that it’s the next closest house, I figured we’d go there first.”

Patrick felt David’s eyes land on him but he didn’t know why the other Patrick wanted to save one of the listings for last. 

“Uh, yeah, sure, that’s fine Ray,” Patrick muttered, not really sure what else to do. Hopefully his other self wouldn’t mind too much. 

They got in the car and Ray gave the directions to get to the next place. But it wasn’t until they pulled up the front of the place and David let out a gasp that Patrick understood why it was likely being saved for last. 

“It’s the cottage out of ‘The Holiday’,” David murmured as they got out of the car. 

Patrick hummed, taking it in. He’d seen The Holiday one year with Rachel, but had never thought much of it. However, the cottage was gorgeous. It looked homely and soft without being too large or small for what they needed, with a carefully manicured garden. 

Patrick thought he wouldn’t mind the gardening on the weekends. It had always been an enjoyable time when he’d helped his dad as a kid, getting to plant seeds and watch them grow. 

They stepped up to the front door where Ray was waiting with the house keys. 

“This cottage has nothing on the lodge, but I know it’s more within your price range, and the commission I will receive will still be excellent!” Ray said jovially, while David hid a grimace behind a smile. Patrick’s mouth turned upward, amused by this strange, strange man who he’d apparently lived with for quite some time. 

As Ray unlocked the house, David threw him a look. Patrick wasn’t accustomed to these looks, though he suspected the other Patrick knew them well. However, he found himself giving a teasing look in return, his heart picking up speed when the side of David’s mouth threatened to pull upwards. And when David looked away, he was left craving for more. 

_Stop it_ , he thought, _he doesn’t like you that way_.

_But you’re almost exactly like his Patrick. You know, the one that he’s getting married to_ , a voice in his head piped up. 

_Hang on. Since when were_ you _attracted to men?_ Another voice pointed out, and at that point, Patrick knew it was time to shut off his brain from any more dangerous thoughts. 

The house was worn, but worn in rather than worn out. It was rustic, and maybe a little old-fashioned, but hardly out of date. As Patrick followed David through the narrow hallway, it felt as though time slowed down.

Hell, he was in another universe. Maybe it actually did.

Glancing first to his left was a sitting room. It was bare but Patrick dressed the room in his mind. A couch against the wall, and a TV opposite it. A record player would sit on a small table by the window seat, for Patrick to use his record collection on lazy Sunday afternoons, cuddling together by the window as the sun sets.

Out a window he could see the car port towards the back of the house. He could see it now, borrowing the model train set from his father and setting it up next to the car. Teaching David how it worked. Letting him drive the trains. Watching the neighbours kids, or their families’ kids marvel in awe at a tiny world that they’ve built in a single room of the house.

The hallway opened into the kitchen, which overlooked the back garden. It was large enough to run around in, but not so big that it couldn’t be maintained. They could build a garden to grow their own herbs and produce for the store. Have chickens to lay eggs in a coop. There was room for a dog if they’d like in that yard. And they could host their own parties in such a space - a barbecue with their friends & families. 

David stepped into the kitchen, looking around with a pleased expression on his face. “This is nice. It looks new?” He asked, his hands sweeping over the black marble kitchen bench. 

“It was recently redone by the previous owners,” Ray informed them. “Would you like to see the bedrooms?”

Patrick snapped his head around, nodding. “Lead the way.”

Ray led them into the master bedroom which had an ensuite and a gorgeous aspect to boot. It was a clean, spacious, white canvas, ready for them to bring in their own touches of what makes it their bedroom - their home. 

“Ray, where’s the closet?” Patrick heard David ask. 

“Right over here. It’s a classic step-in closet,” Ray said, opening the doors of the tiny closet. 

David looked crestfallen at the sight, and Patrick was devastated for him. He didn’t quite understand his clothes, but he had gathered they were important to him. And he clearly liked this house, and didn’t want to rule it out. 

“Shall I show you the other bedrooms?” Ray started, oblivious to the feelings coursing through both the men. 

“Uh, yeah sure Ray. Lead the way,” Patrick said, unable to take his eyes off of David. 

They traipsed out of the master bedroom and into the next one which was rather small. It had a tiny window, and would only fit a single bed. 

“This is a great room for a child, or as the previous owner used it, for storage.”

Patrick nodded, the cogs whirring in his head. “This shares the wall with the master bedroom, right?” 

“Yes it does.”

Confirming his suspicions, Patrick looked to David. “Well, if we do decide on this place, we can renovate this room into a walk-in closet. What do you think?”

David looked back at him with wide eyes. “Really?”

“It might take some time because it’ll cost us a bit but yeah. May as well make good use of the space.” 

David’s expression softened, giving Patrick a look that he could only describe as pure love. His heart began to race at the open, vulnerable display of affection - somehow he suspected that such openness from David wasn’t easily given. And in his stomach, butterflies began to pitter-patter, bubbling to the surface, a feeling he’d never felt before. He felt as though he would suffocate in the small space. He needed to sit down, his head was spinning so fast at how his body was reacting to the way David was looking at him. 

“Shall we look at the other bedroom?” Ray asked, cutting into the fog of Patrick’s thoughts.

“Sure,” David said quietly, looking a little worriedly at Patrick. 

“You okay?” He asked as soon Ray had walked out. 

“I’m fine,” Patrick somehow managed to get out of his strangled throat. 

David looked a little skeptical, but he didn’t question Patrick further. Instead he held out his hand, adorned with four gold rings. 

Patrick took it. 

—-

After visiting two more places that were a bit too small for their liking, it was time to head back to Schitt’s Creek. And though the latter part of the day hadn’t been as interesting, Patrick’s hand still burned with the feeling of David’s hand in it, and his heart still beat fast whenever the taller man looked his way. 

“So, how was that?” David asked as they drove back to town.

“Could’ve been worse,” Patrick teased, trying to hide his emotional revelation.

“Wow. Such high praise.”

“Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve looked for houses. I went with Rachel once,” Patrick said to David. 

“You never told me that.”

“I think your Patrick had already come to Schitt’s Creek by the time we were looking at houses.”

“And how was it?”

Patrick just shrugged. “I mean, we still broke up. None of the houses…they weren’t right. They didn’t feel right.”

He didn’t add that it felt right to be there, looking at houses with David. But when he looked over at the driver’s seat, David glanced back at him, a knowing, understanding, soft look in his eyes. 

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, the radio playing in the background like a soundtrack. But it was comfortable and familiar in a way Patrick had never experienced before. 

It didn’t take long to arrive at Patrick’s apartment. Once David had pulled up and parked the car, Patrick turned to him. “Wanna come up?”

When David’s eyes went wide and he started to stutter, Patrick realised the implication of what he’d said. “I-not in that way! Just-just to have something to eat, and to talk,” he clarified.

David bit his lip and nodded. “I needed to grab some of my clothes from your place anyway.”

—-

Patrick ordered pizza, and once it had arrived and they’d had some alcohol to drink, he figured it was time to just lay some things out on the table. 

“David, what are we gonna do about this?”

“Huh?” David asked through a mouthful of pizza.

“About me being here. What if I’m here forever? What then? Do I keep playing house in the hopes that one day Patrick might return, or do I go and live my own life?

“Or maybe there’s a way for us to work out how to fix this. But we have to do our research, find similar incidents, and figure out what the answer is. How do we even begin to approach that?” 

David looked severely uncomfortable at the topic. “Do we really need to talk about this?”

“I’m not him. I don’t know if I ever will be him and I can’t do that to you.” 

David took in a shaky breath, on the verge of tears. “I can’t afford to lose you.”

“David. This isn’t my life. I’m not him and if I never get back to my world, then I need to create a life on this plane of existence. Don’t I deserve a chance to rebuild if I’ve lost everything?” 

“You think I don’t know what it’s like to lose everything? This is the second time for me, Patrick. You-he was the best thing to have ever happened to me, and now he’s been zapped out of fucking existence! Just when I thought - “ David broke off, turning away to wipe away a stray tear.

“Thought what?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“It clearly does, David. I think we should talk about it.”

“Just when I thought I could call this place my home. Call him my home. I’ve lost my home, again, but this time is so much more worse. Because this time I was happy, and now it’s been taken away from me and you’re saying we need to just rebuild everything?”

Patrick took in a deep breath. “Then I have to get back to my own world. And get your Patrick back here. Somehow.” 

“Somehow,” David echoed. 

The two men stood across the room from each other, not speaking, not knowing what to say. 

“You’re right there, and somehow you’re not,” David said quietly. 

“I know,” Patrick sighed. He moved towards the bed and sat down, and watched as David sat on the couch.

“Tell me about him. How you guys met, and got together.”

“Why?”

“I want to know.”

“Okay. Uh, so I went to file my incorporation papers. You-he was incredibly snippy and made a lot of sports metaphors…”

—-

When Patrick woke up the next morning, the world felt a little different. Not that different of course, he noted to himself as he stared at the ceiling of the flat from a different universe. But something deep in his bones had shifted.

Last night, David & him had talked for hours upon hours, Patrick finally getting to know about their relationship and about the man that had won the other him over. They’d talked about everything and anything into the early hours of the morning, until they both fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. It couldn’t have been a better night - even if he was far from home. 

Patrick sat up in his bed, looking to the couch to see if David was awake. But David wasn’t there.

He was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments & kudos appreciated. The final chapter ~is~ done and will be posted soon, but I'm planning to do some wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff with this series, so keep an eye out for that.


	3. False Alarms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow! hi. I'm so sorry this took so long to update. my work went haywire which meant I didn't have a lot of time to update. but I do have a lot more time now, so hopefully I'll get this work done!

Patrick got up and changed, trying not to think about why David wasn’t there that morning. He must’ve just gone to the motel to get changed, he tried to justify to himself while choosing ignore the fact that the other Patrick’s shelves were filled with plenty of David’s clothes. 

Patrick readied himself to go to the store, sure that David would have to be there, seeing as neither of them had worked yesterday. And he figured that there was probably a bit to do in order to catch up with the book-keeping, so he ought to go in too. 

He walked instead of driving, appreciating the small town he’d ended up in. He hadn’t spoken to many of the people here but regardless, it felt safe. He felt safe - despite being an impossible distance away from home. 

“Morning Patrick!” Someone called from across the street, to which he turned and waved at them. He took in a deep breath, and tried to quell the nervous feeling in his stomach. Everything was going to be okay. 

—-

Everything was not okay. 

At least, that’s what he gathered from David when he walked in the store. 

“We’re opening on time today, I see,” Patrick said, meaning to tease and trying not to address the elephant in the room of David having left last night. David gave him a smile but the happiness behind it was missing. 

“Yep,” he replied, continuing to label and place the hand cream out on the table. 

“Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

Patrick wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t want to press the issue. If David wanted to tell him, then he was more than welcome to. 

Checking the time, he went to the door and flipped their sign to open and the work day began. 

It was a busy Sunday, with customers coming and going consistently. When it lulled for a moment, Patrick picked up the spray for the produce while David operated the till. And without meaning to, he started listening in on the conversation David was having with the customer who had picked out a frame from the back of the shop.

“…for my partner for our anniversary.”

“And that is a solid frame for an anniversary gift,” he heard David say as he rung up the item. 

“Yeah. The photo is gonna look great in it!”

“Mmm. That’s very…nice.”

The customer left, leaving the store empty for the first time since they’d opened that morning. Patrick looked towards David who was looking truly miserable now, and not hiding it very well. 

“David.” The word slipped out of Patrick’s mouth before he could stop it. 

David looked up at him like a deer, startled in the headlights. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yep. Yes, I’m fine.”

“David.”

“It’s nothing! It’s really nothing,” David started, hands flying around as he became defensive. 

“It’s clearly something, or you wouldn’t be…” Patrick said, gesturing to him as he trailed off. 

David pursed his lips. “It’s just…it’s my birthday. And it’s-“

“It’s your birthday? Happy birthday!” Patrick exclaimed. 

“Mmhmm.”

“How old are we?”

The death stare David gave him was brutal and very quickly Patrick knew he had to change tact. “Have you got plans?”

“I did, but um, they’ve been cancelled?”

“Cancelled? Why-oh, right. Because of me and…”

“Yep.”

David started adjusting the placement of products on the table, and Patrick knew he had to do something. 

“ _We_ could go for a birthday dinner,” Patrick offered before he even realised what he was saying. 

“You don’t have to do that,” David said softly.

“No, I’d like to. How about…8 o’clock at the Cafe?”

David hesitated, but then finally nodded. “Sure.”

Patrick smiled, his heartbeat racing and the butterflies rising up inside him. “Great,” he said, as he continued to spray the produce. It took him a moment to realise he’d overdone it. 

“Those are wet now.”

“Yep.”

“I’ll dry those off.” 

——

As Patrick sat in the backroom doing numbers, he started to feel panicked. It was David’s birthday and his _real_ fiancé wasn’t here and he was just a terrible stand-in, really, and he didn’t even have a present, or anything to offer like a solution to fix what was going on-

Wait. A present. He could do a present. 

Patrick tried to think what would be a good present for David. David had told him about the time his Patrick sung to him but…no that felt too personal. Not to mention he had nothing prepared. A framed…thing? But of what? He couldn’t think of anything he could put in a frame from the barely 3 days he’d been living here. 

And then it dawned on him. Maybe…maybe it was too much. But it might just work. And hopefully David would love it.

So when he ducked out to get lunch for them at the cafe, Patrick pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts and found the person he was looking for.

“…Hi, Ray? It’s about the houses.”

—-

Patrick had picked out the nicest thing in his wardrobe that he could find - a deep blue blazer to go over a crisp blue dress shirt. He pulled on his jeans and shoes, looking himself over in the mirror to assure himself that he looked good. 

“Get it together, Brewer. It’s not like it’s a date,” he  lied whispered to himself. 

He hopped in his car, driving to the cafe and parking a short walk away from it. In the distance, he could spy Rose Apothecary and a certain someone buzzing around inside, despite his insistent to close early so they could go home.

Patrick let his gaze linger on the store, but quickly shook his head and stepped into the cafe, taking a seat at one of the booth’s.

Twyla came over and greeted him. “Waiting for David?”

“Yeah. It’s his birthday,” Patrick said, immediately feeling silly after. Twyla probably already knew that.

“So you’ll want mozzarella sticks?” She continued.

“Uh, sure?”

“Great! They won’t be long,” she said and headed to the kitchen.

Patrick nodded, took in a deep breath and sighed. He could do this. He could make this day good for David, even if he wasn’t…him. 

Just then, David walked in and waved casually, approaching the table.

“Almost didn’t see you there through the mad rush of the Sunday night dinner crowd,” David commented as he sat down in the booth.

“Well, it’s a good thing I made a reservation,” Patrick replied, smiling and feeling his nerves rise.

“You look very nice,” David said suddenly, and Patrick’s cheeks heated up before he could even have a say in his physical reaction.

“Thank you. I, uh, assumed the cafe had a dinner jacket policy and uh, I didn’t want to wear one of theirs,” he joked. 

David nodded, looking slightly haunted.

“Everything okay?” Patrick asked.

“Mmhmm. Yep, Everything’s fine,” David grimaced. He was lying.

Patrick looked down at his lap, trying to save this before it got worse. 

“Um, about last night,” Patrick started, “I just wanted to say that-“

“Sorry I’m late.”

Both men turned to see Stevie standing next to the booth, looking bemused at the situation.

“Stevie. I, uh, I didn’t know you were coming.”

“And I didn’t think you’d be here either,” she said, eyeing him carefully before turning to an embarrassed looking David.

He startled with both of them staring his way, and started to speak. “I-“

“Here’s the mozzarella sticks you ordered. No freezer burn today!” Twyla interrupted as she placed the plate down on the table, then pulled out the massive menus from under her arm to place on the table. 

“Oh, sorry, there’s only two. I didn’t realise Stevie was coming to your anniversary and birthday dinner,” Twyla continued, either seemingly not realising or entirely ignoring how awkward the situation was.

“…Anniversary?” Patrick asked.

David’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and then he quickly stood up. “I’ll be right back.” 

He left, and Patrick leant back into the booth, defeated. “I didn’t know,” he said quietly, turning to Stevie who was sitting across from him. 

“Oh, I know. It’s David. He has no problem being honest about the world around him, but not about himself.” 

Patrick bit his lip in thought. “Should I…should I go?”

“That depends. You’re on a date with him, right?”

Patrick froze. “No. Of course not. He..he doesn’t want that. I’m not…I’m not his Patrick, I’m just trying to…to make sure he has a good day.” And failing, he wanted to add.

“Ah. Did you get him a present?”

Patrick nodded.

Stevie hummed. “If it’s anything remotely sentimental, you are on a date with him.”

Patrick glanced down at the small navy box he had sitting next to him in the booth, before looking up at Stevie. She just raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not - it’s not - Stevie, he’s in a relationship!”

“With you.”

“You know what I mean.”

Stevie sighed. “If for some reason you’re stuck here for the rest of your days…”

“Don’t. That’s not gonna happen.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll put it another way. If you ever do get back to your universe, or whatever, is there _anything_ from this life you’ve experienced here that you’d want to stay the same?”

…

Everything. 

It was the small town, the quiet apartment, Rose Apothecary, the kind residents…it was David, and his relationship with David, his impending marriage….he wanted that. He’d known David for _three_ days and in those three days he’d discovered a future for himself that he’d never even _dreamed_ of, but he wanted so _so_ badly. 

He wanted everything.

And he wanted it with David. 

Patrick didn’t say anything in response, but the look in Stevie’s eyes was enough to know the truth. 

That was when David returned from the bathroom, and Stevie quickly stood up. 

“I just remembered I actually had something else to go to, but I might just take a few of these to go.” She picked up a couple of mozzarella sticks, and standing behind David, she gave Patrick the thumbs-up. 

Patrick cleared his throat and smiled at David. “I, uh, I actually got you something, though I’m not sure now if it’s a tad inappropriate, being your anniversary and all.”

David looked intrigued. “Tell that to one of my ex-girlfriends who decided an appropriate anniversary present was a surprise wedding with no prenup. And I need pageantry.”

Patrick let out a laugh, placing his small box on the table and pushing it towards David. Gingerly the other man picked it up, sliding the lid off and pulling out a key.

“…Thanks?” David said, his mouth quirked like he was amused more than he was offended.

“It’s a key to the cottage.” At the way David’s face quickly changed, Patrick found himself quickly getting his words out. 

“It can be changed but I just thought - when your Patrick comes back, take him there, and I’m sure he will see everything I saw.”

David was silent a moment. “If he doesn’t come back?”

Patrick pulled the menu up to hide his face and the gasp that just came from his mouth. “Then that’s the house we buy,” he said with a choked voice.

He looked over the menu to see David wiping a stray tear from his eye. “Yeah. That’s the house we buy.” 

—-

After Patrick had given his gift, the conversation quickly eased into what it had been the night before, but this time they were talking of the future rather than the past. 

Once the cafe closed, Patrick drove David to the motel. He parked out the front, turning the engine off and they sat there in the dim light, silence all around them.

“Well, that was a fun night,” David piped up. 

Patrick smiled. “I’m glad.” He paused, trying to work out how best to word what he was about to say. “I’m glad I ended up here in this universe with you, David.”

David looked startled but endeared at the comment. “That is a very lovely thing to say.”

“”And I’m so glad you did, Patrick, because someone needed to book-keep for the store and make sure I didn’t decide to buy an overpriced lodge while my fiancé was away.””

David hummed. “A bold claim.” 

Patrick huffed in amusement, and found his eyes drifting to David’s lips. He leant in a little - but no, he shouldn’t! - but before he could pull away, David was leaning in and he was leaning in a bit more and their mouths met for a short, world-changing kiss. And in Patrick’s stomach the butterflies were fluttering so fast they nearly threatened to escape him altogether. 

David pulled away and Patrick wanted to melt into his car. God. That’s what a kiss _should_ feel like. Thirty something years and he never even knew. He turned to David, knowing he had to say something, but not sure what.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Patrick paused. For the fact that this was his first kiss with a man? That he now knew why him and Rachel didn’t work?…That it felt right?

“For the butterflies,” he said quietly. David’s mouth opened quietly, and Patrick heard a little gasp. He nodded, and stepped out of the car.

“Can we talk tomorrow?” Patrick found himself asking.

“We can talk whenever you’d like.”

“Goodnight, David.”

“Goodnight, Patrick.”

Patrick watched as David walked to the motel room, and shut the door behind him without a glance back. He turned on his engine, energy jittering through his body and he knew he couldn’t just go home and pace a hole in the floors of his apartment. He couldn’t hike it out either since it was night. So he pulled out onto the road and he drove and he drove. Speeding along the highway to the middle of nowhere he cried out with joy, blasted the radio and drove, far, far away.

TO BE CONTINUED

(see Next Work in the Butterfly ‘verse series)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to see the next fic in this series for the continuation...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos & comments are appreciated and encourage me to write/post faster!!!


End file.
